I also have a fischers axe that is I will most likely replace is the near future. I've already done a ton of reading and watched hours of videos on youtube (this video is one of my favorites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW2DN46lrqk)

My questions:1) I live in U.S. in central Washington state. I'm literally surrounded by apple, cherry and peach trees. What would be the best approach to getting some greenwood from local farmers? Should I offer to pay?2) Is there such a thing as too green of wood?3) In all the videos I've watched, I haven't seen any gloves. As a newbie I'm a little nervous, especially with the axe work. Do gloves offer any level of protection or are they recommended for beginners?4) I have an eye on a gransfors axe (small forest hatchet) but are there any budget options besides refurbishing old axe heads?5) What are the best axe retailers in the states?

Thanks for the help. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of my first attempts soon.

baguette wrote:My questions:1) I live in U.S. in central Washington state. I'm literally surrounded by apple, cherry and peach trees. What would be the best approach to getting some greenwood from local farmers? Should I offer to pay?2) Is there such a thing as too green of wood?3) In all the videos I've watched, I haven't seen any gloves. As a newbie I'm a little nervous, especially with the axe work. Do gloves offer any level of protection or are they recommended for beginners?4) I have an eye on a gransfors axe (small forest hatchet) but are there any budget options besides refurbishing old axe heads?5) What are the best axe retailers in the states?

Thanks for the help. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of my first attempts soon.

Q1 : offer to pay yes, but for the small amounts you'll need I'd be stunned if they will take your money. Show them real examples of your current finished work - so they know you are serioius.q2: No! But for finishing, you do want it dry as that scrapes or sands much better.Q3: Gloves add to your danger. You must learn the 4 basic cuts: the birdie-cut or chest-lever grip, the shoulder shrug, the walking push cut, the push cut. Do them with gloves and you gain a false sense of security plus you won't know exactly where the work finishes.Q4: I'd go with refurb old ax head. You'll need a belt grinder or linisher, or a file to create the edge geometry you want.q5: dunno, I am in Scotland.

Hi Baguette, The knives you've bought are near as dam the same ones I bought when I first started spoon carving 10+ years ago. In fact I still use my straight Frost/Mora as my main knife, there's not much out there that can beat the quality and price of this knife. It's easy to sharpen and holds a good edge. I however progressed from the F/M hook knife and now use a Hans Karlasson for deep work and a brilliant low profile knife from Ben Orford for doing shallow bowled spoons. I can see that you've watch some of Ben's Youtube articals. I'm a great fan of Ben's tools and use his hook tools for bowl turning. Pay for carving and turning wood ?....never done it in 20+ years...always brass neck it, blag your way into some wood. One day if your needing slab wood you might need to buy some. As Gavin says your needing so little...your neighbour would have to be fair tight to charge you. Gloves ?.... Gavin's right again, at a push a wee plaster or a bit of tape on your thumb on your knife hand. Axe ?.... I've never bought an axe, they tend to be just too expensive for me. I always refurbish old kindling axes for spoon work and lathe work. All comes down to your budget.

Hope this helps, attached a few pic's of my spoon tools. Please post some pic's of your spoons.